++ 1st time live
@ Jay Dee on acordian
# Rich Robinson on dulcimer
% Patti on clarinet
& Lenny on lead vocals

Superb 1st gen audience recording of Patti Smith's show at New York's Hiro Ballroom on 18 April 2007, previewing her new "Twelve" covers album. The sound quality is sensationally good - clear, warm, immediate - with only fault being a few recording problems during "Pastime Paradise". Several songs are played live for the first time (Everybody Wants to Rule the World, Changing the Guard, Helpless, Perfect Day, Boy in the Bubble, Midnight Rider, White Rabbit, Pastime Paradise, Smells Like Teen Spirit) ever by the band.

It's a great show - all the songs from the album are played over two sets (first 19 tracks) and an encore (CD3). A highlight of the evening is the Wicked psychedelic medley of "Are You Experienced?" and "White Rabbit" to close the first set. "White Rabbit" shits all over the original Jefferson Airplane version. Special guests for the evening were Rich Robinson of the Black Crowes and Louis Resto, Eminem's producer. Jackson Smith plays guitar/bass for the whole show. A few additional covers (ie not on the new album) are played - Lou Reed's "Perfect Day", The Seeds' "Pushin' Too Hard", and REM's "Everybody Hurts". Patti reads "Tara", a poem for her niece and her sister-in-law, apparently reflecting on the recent shootings at Virginia Tech. A lot of old favourites are played too, and all-in-all, it's a wonderful extended performance - more enjoyable than the studio album for my money.

Notes -
"Two nights after the shootings in Blacksburg, Virginia, and between its release dates in Europe and North America, Patti and the band debut the latest record "Twelve" in front of a capacity crowd of family & friends, hardcore fans and industry brass at the Hiro Ballroom, in The Maritime Hotel. Rock's poet laureate has fun with the record industry's current fetish for bonus tracks, Paul Simon's infuence on her (despite her dislike of his music), and the nature of the new album. Despite the sad and incredulous headlines leading up to the show, the band delivers a loose and joyous, and admittedly under-rehearsed, celebration of its latest release. Like a good wine or Tennessee whiskey, Patti and the band continue to improve with age.

"With the wisdom that longevity and experience provide, and within weeks of her induction into the Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame, Patti gives paradoxical treatment to the topic of guns and violence with a reverent reading of excerpts from the tribute to the righteousness of battle by Longfellow and the Rolling Stones' iconic anti-war classic "Gimme Shelter", along with the a touching reflection on the Virgina Tech tragedy in a recent poem, "Tara." She clarifies the conficting purpose, and her feelings, when she speculates on the American forefathers' intentions with the 2nd amendment - which guarantees the right to bear arms - in the set up for "Gloria".

"The opening version of "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" suffers from the distraction of the previous days' news as Patti has a hard time remembering the lyrics. The version of Bob Dylan's "Changing of the Guard" that follows is a beautifully melodic tip-off that this night will be something special. The rest of the first set includes solid versions of songs from "Twelve" with a sweet reading of Lou Reed's "Perfect Day" thrown in for good measure. "Soul Kitchen" and "Gimme Shelter" have just gotten [sic] better with playing, while becoming 'warhorses' in recent shows.

"Rich Robinson sweetens "Boy in the Bubble" on mountain dulcimer after a drawn out and comical introduction as "Barry's friend"; and he returns to his electric roots on a straight-ahead treatment of "Midnight Rider." On the anniversary of one of the most significant dates in American history, Patti reads excerpts from Longfellow's "The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere" as a spoken word intro to the Allman Bros' "Midnight Rider". The psychedelia-drenched medley of "Are You Experienced?"/"White Rabbit" to close the set harkens back to the Summer of Love - and its escapist hedonism conjured up by the hands of 60's chemist, Owsley Stanley. As the medley winds down, Patti answers the question (alluded to earlier in the show) as to why there are four songs from 1967 on the album when she exclaims "they were fuckin' doing something!" and challenges the crowd to help history repeat and get "off our fucking asses and do something too!."

"The band returns to Patti standards in the second set. Jackson provides Tom Verlaine-infuenced fills in a touching "Beneath the Southern Cross", while Lenny lays down its beautiful melody on acoustic guitar. His garage roots get exposed later with "a nugget if you dug it" and a turn on vocals. The self-deprecating intro to "My Blakean Year" is, at once, hilarious and confident. The set ends on a driving version of the Van Morrison classic that Patti and the band have usurped as their own. Throughout, Tony and Jay Dee provide the propulsive rhythm that gives the show its punch. Moving easily between bass and keyboards, Tony demonstrates his versatility, and prompts Patti for forgotten lyrics when required.

"Stevie Wonder's "Pastime Paradise" opens the encore set on a hopeful and optimistic note. The haunting, acoustic take on Curt Cobain's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" is a highlight of the show and includes a stinging spoken word indictment of the impact of war on children, specifically, and the conservative right's political agenda, generally. The show closes with the second version of "Everbody Wants to Rule the World" with improved recollection of the lyrics.

"Hope you like it...

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